The Bride Wore Luar and Celebrated Indigenous Traditions at This Wedding in Mexico

Fashion producer and art director Cynthia Cervantes and photographer and creative consultant Travis Gumbs met at Everyday People, a monthly happening in downtown New York City that has since evolved into a series of events across the U.S. They were on the dance floor at a party thrown by one of the founders and mutual friend, Saada Ahmed. “Another mutual friend, Jacky Tang, was our matchmaker,” Cynthia remembers. “He told me that Travis thought I was cute and wanted to dance with me, and then he went and told Travis that I thought he was cute and I wanted to dance. Five minutes later, we were grinding to ‘That’s the Way Love Goes,’ by Janet Jackson.” Cynthia and Travis now have a creative studio called Maroon World, where they publish a photography zine and take on select client work that focuses on the contributions and accomplishments of people of color.

Four years after that initial dance floor encounter, Travis proposed on their anniversary. “I had the ring for six months beforehand. I was trying to wait for the perfect moment,” he explains. “During the time we’d been dating, we began working on Volume I of Maroon World and set the zine launch date for our four-year anniversary. It was really meaningful for us, since we were launching the beginning of what is now our creative studio together.” Travis knew he wanted to propose privately that morning so that they could have a moment alone before seeing all of their family and friends later that evening for the launch. “But when we woke up that day, of course, Cynthia is in production mode, emailing and making phone calls. I suggested we take some time to have an ‘anniversary moment’ before the day got crazy—just to sit for a second and exchange cards and acknowledge the day.”

The only problem? They were so busy planning the launch that neither of them had time to pick out cards. “I was so focused on the day’s activities that I suggested doing the anniversary moment later, after the launch,” Cynthia admits. “But Travis got me to sit down, and we had our moment, just appreciating each other and talking about how excited we were for this new chapter in our lives, which I thought was launching the magazine.”

Then, Travis got down on one knee, took out the ring, and asked Cynthia to marry him. “I gagged!” she says with a laugh. “When he was down on his knee, I was like: ‘What are you doing? Don’t play with me!’ I started crying as soon as he put the ring on my finger.”

Right after the launch, the two got the hell out of dodge for a much deserved break. They took a trip to Mexico City, and they loved it so much they kept changing their departing flight so they could stay longer. “It felt like the ideal wedding location,” says Travis. “When Cyn told her family that we were thinking of Mexico, her dad suggested we get married on their ranch in Michoacán, which has been in the family for generations.”

They quickly returned, this time spending almost two weeks in Michoacán, where Travis fell in love with the countryside and the slow pace of life. “I grew up on an island in the West Indies, so the ranch, which is in the middle of a lush mountainside and on the edge of a huge lake, felt reminiscent of home,” he explains.

“We knew that if we did it on the ranch, we wanted to create an experience that would allow the natural environment to speak to our guests,” Cynthia adds. “Part of the magic of being there is just allowing yourself to open up to the expansive views and the inevitable state of meditation it nurtures within. This was really the foundation of our aesthetic, which, for us, was a celebration of indigenous traditions and materials.”

The two worked with Mauricio Jimenez Arce from Grupo Majiar, who was instrumental in ensuring the 100-plus guests who came from abroad were all well taken care of throughout the weekend. “We had many requests that seemed difficult to achieve given the setting—like a vegan wedding cake—but he delivered above and beyond,” says Cynthia. “My family in Mexico also made sure everything at the ranch got done. From my dad and his partner, Oly, to my cousins and aunts and uncles, literally everyone there helped out in a major way.”

This collaborative creative approach extended to wardrobe decisions as well. “There was no doubt in my mind that Luar’s Raul Lopez would design the bridal look,” says Cynthia. “I honestly never imagined I’d wear a wedding dress, and I guess I put it off for so long because I just couldn’t wrap my head around what I wanted. Then Raul suggested I send him some references, so little by little I saved things in a folder. One day, I noticed there were a lot of recurring themes—an off-the-shoulder moment, a corset feature, a statement slit, et cetera—and I made a deck and sent it to Raul. This was the beginning of how the dress came to be. We talked about how I wanted to feel walking down the aisle, and we both literally screamed the same words at each other. ‘Strong! Sexy! Goddess!’ He captured all of it.”

The resplandor is a traditional indigenous headpiece, and before Cynthia ever envisioned her dress, she knew she wanted to wear one. “The tricky part was making sure it would be cohesive with the entire look, so we put it off until we had a strong vision of what the dress was going to be,” she explains. Once the dress silhouette had been decided upon, Raul connected Cynthia with Neon, who designs epic headpieces and made some for Luar’s Corporativo show. “Maroon World actually shot those pieces as part of a Luar editorial, so the connection with Neon was pretty instant as we had worked with her pieces before even knowing her,” says Cynthia. “We flew to L.A. for two days and met with Neon about four times during those days to complete the headpiece. I brought her the fabric from the dress, as well as the Swarovski crystals Raul used in the dress. She was definitely inspired by the dress and incorporated the ruffles, the pleating, and the crystals seamlessly, creating a resplandor that was timeless, modern, and romantic.”

For shoes, Cynthia knew she wanted something simple and strong, and the Swarovski-adorned Giuseppe Zanotti heels she found were the perfect fit. The bride wasn’t planning on wearing earrings—she wanted the dress and resplandor to shine on their own—but then, at the last minute, her mother pulled out a small pair she’d brought along just in case. “They were my something borrowed,” says Cynthia. “I also wore my gold nameplate bracelet that my mom gifted me over 15 years ago. I never take it off!”

From the moment the decision was made to get married in Mexico, Travis knew he wanted to wear a charro suit. “The cut is perfect, and the minute you have it on, it makes you feel like a real badass,” he says with a laugh. After researching different suits for a few months, he found Casa del Mariachi in Los Angeles, which is basically mecca for charro suits. He flew to Los Angeles for a fitting with Jorge Tello in March and had no idea what he wanted, just a bunch of reference photos. “It was a bit of sensory overload, with a million options to choose from, everything from fabric to the design of your embroidery and even the type of chains you can use as adornment,” he says. “It was like Nike ID but for a charro suit.” But there was a white suit hanging in the shop with black embroidery that caught his eye, and the choice was basically made. From there, they decided his suit would be cream color with black tribal embroidery. For the arm and back design, Travis worked with the couple’s friend Romina Cenisio to create custom astrological embroidery that would match the tribal print from Casa del Mariachi. There was a Gemini sign on his right arm (for his sign), a Sagittarius sign on his left (for Cynthia), and the two signs combined on the back. The boots were custom-made in León, Mexico, a city that is famous for its vaquero boots.

On July 7, a shaman group led guests into a ceremony area by initiating a traditional dance called fuego. “This dance symbolically opens a portal to the fire within and begins a conversation with our ancestors,” Travis explains.

When the dance ended, the shamans led guests in a breathing meditation that focused on love and the ability of love to expand and multiply within the universe. “I walked in at the very end of the meditation, and the energy was beautiful,” says Travis. “There were crying faces, happy faces—it was really moving. The mandala was created by the shamans and represented the four elements—fire, water, earth, air. At each elemental ‘station,’ we gave thanks to each element in a different way.” For example, at the water station of the mandala, they thanked water for being a reminder of the flow of life, for helping to maintain an equilibrium in times of uncertainty, and for allowing happiness to flow through lives as individuals and partners.

“I was nervous as hell at first,” Travis remembers of the ceremony. “But when Cynthia began to make her appearance—keep in mind, I never saw her dress, not one detail, everything was kept secret from me—I was floored. She looked like a queen from the future! Then we began the ancient rituals of paying homage to our ancestors, the earth, to each other, and it felt really special. The ceremony really made it feel like two bodies, two families, coming together to create a union.”

After they completed the four stations, they read each other vows they’d written themselves, and exchanged rings, cried, and kissed.

If the ceremony was a spiritual experience, then the reception was a magical one. Immediately following the service, the newlyweds took photos with guests in front of a mural they had created at the ranch. The mojigangas (or giant wedding dolls) were dancing with guests while the shamans kept playing traditional indigenous music. Guests drank cocktails made from aguas frescas (fresh fruit juices) and tequila, which were served in cantaritos, traditional cups made by indigenous people in Santa Fe de la Laguna, Michoacán. A handmade smoked tequila barrel was placed on every table, also locally made by craftsmen who have been producing tequila barrels for generations.

When Cynthia and Travis finally entered the reception area, the DJ started playing cumbias, and everyone at the wedding started dancing. They had hired a trio to play traditional Mexican love ballads during dinner, but once the DJ started playing, the dance floor was packed. “Dinner came and went, and people were still on the dance floor,” Cynthia says with a laugh.

A local folk-dance troupe, called Ballet Folklórico, also performed traditional dances for guests. “It was important for us to show respect for where we were, while allowing our family and friends to have an experience that was authentic to the ranch and local identity,” Travis explains.

Afterward, they did the money dance—a tradition where guests pin money on the bride and groom in exchange for a dance. Then, they were asked to get up on chairs for another Mexican tradition: tequila limbo. The bride and groom form a bridge with a tequila bottle between them, and guests limbo under it to receive a shot of tequila.

“This was our favorite,” says Cynthia. “We were dying as our friends and family members would line up for a turn! In every picture from the tequila limbo, we are screaming with laughter.”

Then, it was time for the bouquet toss. (Travis’s mother caught it!) And then, “Friends Asma, Venus, Ezra [Kingdom], and Elvin [Fried Plátano] dropped the beat and were playing back-to-back dancehall, soca, and R&B mash-ups,” says Travis. “My favorite moment was when our entire party did the electric slide to an Aaliyah and Selena remix.”

At this point, Cynthia changed her outfit, and she and Travis danced their first dance together in matching charro looks. The last act was a 30-piece Mexican band, called Banda Potranca. “The banda pulled us up onto the stage to dance. I had never danced to that kind of beat in my life, but we caught the beat and I managed not to embarrass myself,” Travis remembers. Fireworks went off in the field where the ceremony was held—an exuberant ending to a full day and night of festivities.

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